One Light, One Wall

Call it self-preservation, narcissism, artistic expression, or obsession, but artist/photographer/medical-device engineer Joseph Murawski’s series one light, one wall is highly addictive. Although primarily a painter, he has been regularly taking self-portraits against the bare wall of his basement since November 2005.

Like countless obsessive self-portrait shooters, Murawski uses the same background, same camera (he started with a small Sony point-and-shoot, but upgraded to a Nikon D70 in March 2006), same light (a compact fluorescent), and, of course, the same subject. But his point isn’t to document the slow passage of time. Instead, his portraits are much more inspired conveying what he calls “chaotic, or even frantic” moods and emotions.

When you click though these photos you get the sense that you are looking at a psych ward full of characters who look mildly alike, but could by no means be the same man. The four here—“ $711.32!!” “intermission: compression,” “suspend me, I have suffered long enough,” and “ derecognition, disgorgence”—are as different and unexplainable as their titles.

Murawski updates the set sporadically, and usually takes the photos when the mood strikes him. In addition to this series, he has a large collection of other self-portraits both on flickr and his site: carnival of the maniac.

—Kathleen Davis

Comments

[Paul Treacy]

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Thank you and good luck.